Push/Pull Objects – Emily Qian

I really enjoyed this assignment! It was fun to see what forms I could create by combining and manipulating primary forms, and it also helped me to understand the structure of different objects by breaking them down into primary forms. I wanted to create forms that one wouldn’t commonly find in the form of plushies. From this assignment, I hoped to continue to advance and improve my sewing skills, while creating fun forms that I would be proud of.

Object #1:

For my first object, I made a coffee mug. To begin this project, I wanted to experiment with sewing a different type of primary form than what I had sewn before, as well as learn how to sew darts and combine fabric to create different patterns. As a result, I decided to create a coffee mug, where I could learn to create a handle through sewing darts, combine forms by sewing the main cylinder with the handle, and combine fabric by sewing a different fabric onto the top of the mug. Through this object, I learned so much, in dealing with the challenges of measuring out fabric to be an appropriate size for what I wanted to do and understanding which parts of the fabric to sew together to create the form I was looking to make.

I also encountered challenges in combining the handle with the cylinder. I ended up cutting holes into the main cylinder, where the ends of the handle would go, and then hand-sewed the ends of the handle onto the cylinder, as the ends of the handle are very small. 

Overall, for my first object, I was very proud of the end result I was able to make. I was able to learn how to sew a cylinder, darts, combine forms, and sew different fabrics together to create a seamless look. I also learned to go slower when sewing together the forms, to ensure that my seam lines were neat and that the fabric didn’t bunch up and that I didn’t sew together parts that I didn’t intend on sewing together. For my second object, I wanted to continue to apply the skills I learned for this object while continuing to try new skills.

Object #2:

For my second object, I sewed a Coca-Cola bottle. For this object, I wanted to experiment with combining larger primary forms together, as well as sewing fabric together to create different patterns. For instance, the bottom of the bottle is a dark blue cylinder, but then there is a red cylinder in the middle for the label of the bottle. The top of the bottle is a cone, and then there is a small cylinder at the top for the bottle cap. The most challenging part of this object was measuring out the cone according to the measurements of the base circle of the bottle, to ensure that the cone would be the right size when sewn and that the top of the cone would leave a small opening to combine the bottle cap to it. I ended up cutting out a much larger piece of fabric than I needed to for the cone, and then as I tried to pin the fabric to the rest of the cylinder, I would cut off pieces of the cone fabric to ensure that it was sized more appropriately. This may not have been the most efficient way to do this process, and next time, I would size the base circle size to the top part of the cone instead to ensure a more symmetrical shape for the cone. 

As such, from this object, I learned the importance of planning out what I wanted to do and figuring out the right order for sewing objects together. For instance, when measuring out the shapes of the fabric, it would have been more efficient to measure out the cone first, which is the most complex part of this object. Then, I could match the rest of the fabric out according to the size of the cone fabric. Overall, I really enjoyed creating this object, as I continued to apply the skills I’d learned from my first object, while trying out some new skills. Moving forward to my last object, I hoped to continue to apply the skills of sewing together different forms and colors, while creating a more complex form.

Object #3:

For my last object, I created a vinyl record player. As I mentioned before, I wanted to create forms that are not commonly found in plush-form, and I thought it would be interesting to create a vintage electronic. I also wanted to experiment with sewing a different primary form as the base of the object than a cylinder, as my first two objects were both primarily made from cylinders. As such, I chose a vinyl record player, as it’s made from two rectangular prisms and could have some interactive elements, through the vinyl record and the needle. 

I really enjoyed sewing this object, and found sewing the vinyl record and needle to the rectangular prism to be the most challenging parts of this object. To sew the vinyl record, I first cut a hole in a dark blue piece of fabric, shaped like a circle, and cut out a smaller white circle about the same size as that hole. Because of the size of the hole, I hand-sewed the two pieces of fabric together to create the vinyl record. Then, I cut a small hole in the top piece of fabric of the rectangular prism, and hand sewed the record to the rectangle, before I sewed the rectangle to the rest of the rectangular prism. Because I only sewed the center of the vinyl record to the rectangular prism, the ends of the vinyl record can flap up, making it seem like it’s a separate piece that could be moved or removed, adding an interactive element. 

The needle presented more challenges and time to make, though. For the needle, I cut out fabric to make a small cylinder, and then cut out a small rectangle to create a tube for the needle. As I sewed together the needle, I realized I had to make the end of the tube into a cone, in order to make it into a needle-like shape. As a result, I had to cut the fabric at a slant so that I could fold the end of the fabric into a cone. Because the cylinder and needle were both so small, I had to hand-sew these two pieces together. 

Finally, I sewed the needle piece into the rectangular prism as well. I wanted to just sew the cylinder to the rectangle, but not the needle, so that the needle could be lifted up and moved around, like an actual vinyl record player. This adds additional interactivity to the object. 

Sewing these smaller objects onto the record player proved to be the most challenging parts of this project, as the rest of the object was simpler in just sewing the larger pieces of fabric together to create its 3-dimensional form. Overall, from this object, I was able to learn to sew additional primary forms, as well as adding more interactive elements to these forms. In the future, if I were to continue to add to this object, I would make the vinyl record more interactive and possibly sew it so it could spin around on the rectangular prism. I would also add wires to the top part of the record player so that the top of the box could stand up on its own.

Push/Pull Objects – Timmy Cheung

The theme of my push/pull objects was centered around the Lunar New Year. I wanted to create objects focused on this holiday because the timing was perfect and I wanted to embrace a part of my culture. Similar to my first project, I wanted to start from an easy level, utilizing the foundational and basic knowledge I knew, and gradually increase the difficulty in my work. Overall, my objects are mainly common food that can be found during the Lunar New Year as they all generally represent good luck for the new year.

Object #1

For my first object, I decided to create a dim sum platter with a dumpling inside. As a beginner in sewing, I wanted to start from the basics and build my way up. I wanted to create a piece that utilized basic shapes such as cylinders and spheres. My dim sum platter is essentially made from creating two cylinders that act as a lid and tray. As you look to interact with this object, you can open the lid and see four different-sized dumplings. 

Object #2

Next, similar to my first object, I wanted to continue leveraging basic shapes to create my idea. For my second object, I decided to create grapes. Again, using basic shapes such as spheres and cylinders, I created the different parts of grapes. I made a cylinder to create the stem while creating a bunch of small spheres to form the actual grapes. However, I wanted to elevate this to the next level so I decided to incorporate velcro onto parts of the stem and all of the grapes so that you can take it off and interact with the object. 

Object #3

Lastly, I wanted to really increase the difficulty of the object I was making so I decided to take a basic idea and modify it to incorporate more complex aspects. My third object is an orange that you can peel open and interact with the orange slices inside. For this piece, I wanted to incorporate basic and complex aspects to make it more interactive with the audience. There are five peels and five orange slices that form a full orange which is held together by a vine of leaves. To open and “peel” the orange, you simply unwrap the leaves. 

Improvisation Inflatables – Isha Agrawal

For our first Inflatables assignment, I viewed this as an opportunity to experiment with creating different inflatable forms, and figuring out how to work with unexpected or unusual results. The materials I used to make these inflatables are colored plastic, tape, and a heat seal to stick certain pieces of plastic together. For my first inflatable, I mostly utilized the same colored plastic and tape, however I gradually used the heat seal more, and incorporated different color schemes to make more unique inflatables.

Inflatable # 1

For my first inflatable, I did not have a clear vision for the way it would take form, and thus decided to attach different shaped pieces of plastic together and see how the plastic would take form. I experimented with the heat sealer slightly, attempting to attach the plastic in certain ways and using the tape to make patterns, as well as to seal areas I was unable to use the heat sealer on. I did find that the tape often came loose, causing frequent holes that were difficult to seal entirely. Thus, this initial inflatable did not inflate well. I also experimented with opposing colors, gravitating towards red and green, with a tape color of purple to complement those colors.

Inflatable # 2

For my second inflatable, I wanted to experiment more with different colors. Specifically, I wanted to make a rainbow inflatable, utilizing every color of the rainbow through the color of the plastic and the color of the tape. Additionally, I was hoping to use the heat sealer more in order to attach as much of the inflatable as I could, in order to prevent the holes I experienced in the previous inflatable. Although I was attempting to make a more cubic shape, I did end up unintentionally heat sealing two large pieces of my inflatable together, which transformed the shape entirely. The end result was a more random shape than I intended, however this experience with the heat sealer helped me learn how to use the tool better, and how to work with an unusual form.

Inflatable #3

For my final inflatable, I wanted to use this as an opportunity to perfect my skills on the heat sealer, and choose a more intentional shape, so I chose to make a “house” shape, with a rectangular base and triangular top. I heat-sealed all of the portions of plastic for the rectangular base, then followed up with maroon tape to act as a border to define the sides. Although I was able to heat-seal most portions of the rectangular form, the triangular form was unable to stay on top of the base I had created, after trying to heat-seal and tape it together. Instead, I focused on my rectangular form, using tape to create patterns on the top and side of the inflatable. Additionally, since I used the heat-seal for the majority of this inflatable, I was able to prevent many holes from being formed.

Improvisation Inflatables – Timmy Cheung

For this Improvisation Inflatables assignment, I approached this by leveraging what I’ve learned from class so far and experimenting with my creative mind. I mostly utilized plastic bags, and tape, and occasionally leveraged the heat tool to seal pieces of plastic together. Throughout the design and making of the three inflatables, I played around with the different plastic forms from the start and gradually added more shapes to create more and more complex inflatables. I had a similar approach when deciding which colors to use for my inflatables as I specifically chose colors that would match well and go well with the shape of the inflatable. Overall, I’m content with the results of the three inflatables as they demonstrate different levels of experimentation and approaches I took for this assignment.  

Inflatable #1

For my first inflatable, I approached it with an open-minded to really get comfortable with the material. I wanted to use basic shapes I was already comfortable with such as squares to build cubes. Utilizing colors of red and blue plastic, I connected three cubes together with black tape to form a heart shaped object. Naturally, I think this inflatable piece was a good starting point for me in the course and easy enough for me to get started and comfortable with the material since I started out with basic shape forms. This inflatable consists of leveraging basic geometric shapes and connecting multiple pieces together with tape and the heat machine. I was pleased with the results of my first inflatable as it showed my skills in connecting plastic materials to form a simple yet clean design. 

Inflatable #2

Moving onto my second inflatable, I wanted to build off from the first inflatable I experimented with and build on the complexity of the structure and shapes. I decided to approach this inflatable with a similar design to my first one. I created basic shapes such as squares and rectangles to create a simple head-size-shaped inflatable that formed a cube. However, I decided to add more shape elements to the sides of the main cube to create more complexity and advance compared to the first inflatable I created. For instance, the cube has six sides and I utilized four of the six sides by adding different variations of cuboids on each of those sides to make it more complex and abstract. In terms of colors, I decided to use grey, yellow, and purple plastic material as I thought these colors would go well together, and I sealed it all together with black tape for a neutral-tone object. After my initial struggle of creating and connecting multiple cube/cuboid-like inflatable pieces together, I was really happy with the outcome of my second inflatable as it built off the complexity of my first inflatable.

Inflatable #3

For my last inflatable, I really wanted to play around with the shapes and complexity of my creation. Leveraging my experience with previous inflatables, I wanted to continue to build off this. My last inflatable incorporates different elements from the previous two inflatables I created. For instance, I took the simple cube shape design of my first inflatable and the different inflatable shapes from my second inflatable to create a more complex last inflatable. For my last inflatable, I created three shapes and connected all of them to form one cohesive “line” inflatable design. My three shapes included a toroid, a tetrahedron connecting next, and a cube as the end piece. In terms of colors, I approached it in a similar way I did with my previous inflatables by choosing colors that go well together. For example, for the toroid, I used grey plastic colors with maroon tape while for the tetrahedron, I used green plastic and black tape. As for the last shape, the cube, I used purple plastic with orange tape. After connecting these shapes, it created a “line-like” path that led to the cube so when I blew air, people could easily follow the airflow that inflates the object. I specifically chose these colors for these shapes because they placed emphasis on the airpath flow and highlights the end inflation. Overall, I was very pleased with the results of all my inflatables because it demonstrates the gradual increase in complexity of my inflatables, as I slowly incorporated more diverse elements to challenge myself in each design. 

Improvisation Inflatables – Emily Qian

I found this assignment very intriguing. To begin, I approached the project very freely, to experiment with shapes and colors and see what would happen through combining different pieces of plastic together. By the end, I was more intentional with the decisions that I made, and had visions in mind of what I wanted to create.

Inflatable #1:

For my first inflatable, I decided to experiment with different shapes, colors, and lines. I wasn’t super comfortable with using the heat sealer yet, so I mostly taped my pieces of plastic together. I soon discovered that using mostly tape meant that my inflatable would be prone to more holes, and my very free approach to creating the inflatable meant that it was difficult to find the holes in my design and cover them up. As a result, while my design ended up being a 3-dimensional object in a unique shape with lots of colors, as I had imagined, it didn’t inflate very well.

Inflatable #2:

For my second inflatable, I decided to use the heat sealer more to prevent holes, and took a more intentional approach in deciding which shapes of plastic to attach and where to attach them. I also wanted to try something a little more unique, and created four chambers of inflatables using the bottoms of colorful plastic bags, and attached them together to be in the shape of a gourd with the heat sealer. As such, to blow them up, one would need four different straws. One person could use all four straws to blow up the four chambers sequentially, or there could be a team of four people blowing together, representing teamwork and collaboration. Unfortunately, I soon realized that it was quite difficult to inflate inflatables that had plastic that was already shaped and had existing corners and edges, so inflating each of the four chambers took extra energy and they did not stay inflated for long.

Inflatable #3:

For my third inflatable, I used a different approach. In class, many of the inflatables we looked at focused more on the shape itself, rather than what was inside of them. I wanted to showcase that by creating inflatables, one could create an entire “world” or “universe” to explore within them. As such, I used clear plastic to create a trapezoidal container shape––similar to a cat carrier or a snow globe, and used colored plastic for the base. To prevent holes, I used the heat sealer to seal the pieces of plastic together. I then used tape to place a tree inside of the inflatable, and finally, used tape to create a handle, to easily carry the inflatable. When blowing up the inflatable, the end of the straw is near the top of the tree, which could represent outside air breathing life into the form inside the inflatable.